New Hampshire Rep. Kuster Doesn’t Understand Bill She Voted For

In an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio today, New Hampshire Democratic Rep. Ann Kuster took umbrage at a reporter asking about her vote for a bill widely understood to halt the acceptance of Syrian refugees, pending assurances about the vetting process:

Rep. Ann McLane Kuster bristled when asked about her support last month of a bill that would put a pause on the U.S. accepting Syrian and Iraqi refugees while a new, more stringent vetting process was established.

“The bill would not prohibit Syrian refugees from entering the nation. I think there’s been a lot of misinformation frankly about the bill,” Kuster said during an interview with NHPR’s Morning Edition. “It doesn’t pause the program. It doesn’t apply a religious test. It’s a certification that the person does not pose a threat to the security of the United States.”

Here are some of the sources that say Kuster is wrong:

President Obama: “President Obama has promised to veto the legislation, arguing it would delay the refugee program while doing nothing to improve security.”

NPR: “However, despite Kuster’s insistence it would not halt the refugee program, according to National Public Radio, ‘supporters of the bill say it would require a ‘pause’ in admitting Syrian and Iraqi refugees, as current applications would be halted while a new vetting process was established.’”

The Keene Sentinel: “Kuster voted Thursday for the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act, which will unnecessarily bog down an already extensive process and tie up resources from the FBI and intelligence agencies doing background checks on people who are already undergoing multiple such checks. Its only real goal is to effectively keep refugees of the Syrian crisis from being approved.”

The Union Leader: “First District Republican Frank Guinta and 2nd District Democrat Annie Kuster, New Hampshire’s two members in the U.S. House of Representatives, both voted for the bill to pause acceptance of Syrian refugees and strengthen the vetting process.”

This isn’t the first time Kuster has been flummoxed by foreign policy, in December 2013 she infamously claimed Benghazi, Libya was not in the Middle East while refusing to answer a question from a New Hampshire voter: